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Kendra knew that Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson had not invited them to stay She had overheard when Mo the kids stay with him It was at the funeral

The memory of the funeral made Kendra shiver There was a wake beforehand, where Grand caskets Kendra did not like seeing Grandpa Larsen wearing makeup What lunatic had decided that when people died you should hire a taxidermist to fix them up for one final look? She would rotesque display in their Sunday best The Larsens were the grandparents who had been part of her life They had sharedvisits

Kendra could hardly re time with Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson They had inherited some estate in Connecticut around the time her parents were married The Sorensons had never invited them to visit, and rarely enerally one or the other They had only coether twice The Sorensons were nice, but their visits had been too infrequent and brief for real bonding to occur Kendra knew that Grande, and that Grandpa had traveled a lot, running a s business That was about it

Everyone was surprised when Grandpa Sorenson showed up at the funeral It had been hteen months since either of the Sorensons had visited He had apologized that his wife could not attend because she was feeling ill There always seemed to be an excuse

Sometimes Kendra wondered if they were secretly divorced

Toward the end of the wake, Kendra overheard Mo Grandpa Sorenson to watch the kids They were in a hallway around a corner fro before she reached the corner, and paused to eavesdrop

Why can't they stay with Marci?

Nor on the cruise

Kendra peeked around the corner Grandpa Sorenson earing a brown jacket with patches on the elbows and a bow tie

Where are Marci's kids going?

To her in-laws

What about a baby-sitter?

Two and a half weeks is a long ti them over sometime

Yes, I recall Does it have to be late June? Why not July?

The cruise is on a time frame What's the difference?

Things get extra busy around then I don't know, Kate

I'm out of practice with children

Stan, I don't want to go on this cruise It was i I don't e of tears

Grandpa Sorenson sighed I suppose we could find a place to lock them up

Kendra moved away from the hall at that point She had quietly worried about staying with Grandpa Sorenson ever since

Having left the town behind, the SUV cliot lost a low, forested hills Every so often they passed a mailbox

Soh the trees; so driveway

They turned onto a narrower road and kept driving

Kendra leaned forward and checked the gas gauge Dad, you're under a quarter of a tank, she said

We're almost there We'll fill up after we drop you kids off

Can't we come on the cruise? Seth asked We could hide in the lifeboats You could sneak us food

You kids will have much more fun with Grandma and Grandpa Sorenson, Mom said Just you wait Give it a chance